GAMEDAY 20 - at Rimouski

GAMEDAY

Saint John Sea Dogs vs Rimouski Oceanic

Tonight, November 2, 2011 at 8:30pm

Colisee de Rimouski

PREVIEW

RIMOUSKI, Que. – The Saint John Sea Dogs will look to extend their winning streak tonight when they take on the Rimouski Oceanic at 8:30pm AST.

The Sea Dogs have won seven consecutive contests entering action this evening. That streak includes a solid 6-0 win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Saturday that saw Zack Phillips score twice and Jonathan Huberdeau, Ryan Tesink, Tomas Jurco, and Grant West add singles. Mathieu Corbeil stopped all 14 shots he faced to pick up the win.

Saint John has been dominant over the seven-game span. They have outscored opponents 46-11 and have recorded three shutouts.

Despite their hot play of late and a 14-5-0-0 record, they have been just okay on the road this season. In nine games away from Harbour Station they are 5-4-0-0 and have been outscored 36-32. They Dogs will look to reverse that trend as they open up a three-game trip tonight in Rimouski.

The Oceanic enter play this evening with a 11-8-0-0 record and sit ninth overall in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League standings. They have a respectable 22 points in 19 games but sit last in the ridiculously tough Telus East Division.

Rimouski and Saint John battled each other on October 8 at Harbour Station with the Sea Dogs coming out on top by score of 8-2. Stephen MacAulay and Danick Gauthier each had a pair of goals while Zack Phillips, Tomas Jurco, Scott Oke and Charles Olivier-Roussel each had solo markers. Mathieu Corbeil made 19 saves in the win.

The Oceanic’s goals came courtesy of Alex Belzile and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc. Jacob Gervais-Chouinard allowed eight goals on 39 shots. Carl Hozjan stopped all five shots he faced in relief.

NOTES: Zack Phillips leads the Sea Dogs in scoring with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points on the year. Danick Gauthier has 23 points while Jonathan Huberdeau has 22… Gauthier has a Sea Dogs high 17 goals. Phillips is second with 11 while Tomas Jurco has eight… after just 10 games, Huberdeau is the team leader in assists with 15. Phillips is second with 14 while Ryan Tesink has 12… Charles-Olivier Roussel is a Sea Dogs best +20. Several players have a +17 rating… Ian Saab still leads the Sea Dogs in penalty minutes with 52… Gauthier has scored a team high four power play goals… Phillips has taken 60 shots… Gauthier’s 17 goals are good for second in the league behind Bathurst’s Zach O’Brien who has 18… Tesink and Gauthier both sit third in the league in shorthanded goals with two… Gauthier is first in the league in game winning goals with three… Roussel’s +20 is good for second in the league… 11 of the league’s top 20 plus/minus players are Sea Dogs… Huberdeau has a league high four shorthanded assists. Stephen MacAulay is second with three… 5-4-0-0 on the road and have been outscored 36-32… despite all the goals the Dogs have piled up over the past few weeks, their power play is ranked 13^th in the league with a rating of 19%... the Sea Dogs’ penalty kill is ranked 12^th with a rating of 73.3%.

IN NET: We’ll guess that Mathieu Corbeil gets the start in net tonight. He has a record of 11-2-0-0 with a goals against average of 2.01 and a save percentage of 0.919.

LAST GAME:  Saint John is coming off a solid 6-0 win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Saturday at Harbour Station. Zack Phillips scored twice while single markers came from Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Jurco, Ryan Tesink and Grant West. Mathieu Corbeil only had to make 14 saves for the win.

NOTES: Defenseman Jerome Gauthier-Leduc leads the Oceanic in scoring with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points. Alex Belzile is second on the team in points with 21… Gauthier-Leduc has a team high 11 goals. Peter Trainor is second with 10… Gauthier-Leduc has a team leading 15 assists. Belzile is second with 14 helpers while Alexandre Mallet has 13… Pier-Luc Pelletier and Etienne Boutet are each an Oceanic high +10. Gauthier-Leduc is a +9… Samuel Morin is a Rimouski worst -8… Mallet has a team leading 42 penalty minutes… Trainor has six power play goals… Gauthier-Leduc has taken a team high 62 shots… Jean-Francois Plante is eighth in the league in shorthanded goals with two… Belzile is seventh in insurance goals with two… Trainor’s 15 points place him seventh in rookie scoring… Liam O’Brien is fourth in shorthanded assists with two… 6-4-0-0 at home and have outscored opponents 41-38… Rimouski has the fifth best power play in the league with a rating of 27.9%... their penalty kill is operating at 76.3% which is good for ninth in the league.

IN NET: According to L’Avantage, Carl Hozjan is expected to start in goal for the Oceanic tonight. He has a 5-3-0-0 record to go with a 3.01 goals against average and a 0.892 save percentage.

SUSPENDED:  The Oceanic will be without defenseman Pier-Luc Pelletier tonight. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League suspended Pelletier for five games regarding two complaints issued by the Shawinigan Cataractes following a game last week.

According to the league, the first suspension was handed down for boarding while the second was for a hit to the head. The league has not released a video explanation yet.

LAST GAME: The Oceanic are coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the Victoriaville Tigres on Sunday. Jakub Culek and Alex Belzile each scored in regulation for Rimouski. Cark Hozjan made 37 saves and two stops in the shootout to pick up the win.

Best Oceanic Video We Could Find On YouTube: The Oceanic winning the Memorial Cup in 2000.

OTHER GAMES

P.E.I. at Drummondville - 7:00 PM EDT
Quebec at Gatineau - 7:30 PM EDT
Saint John at Rimouski - 7:30 PM EDT

THE RINK
Venue: Colisee de Rimouski
Capacity: 5,062
Average Attendance: 2,916
QMJHL Arena Guide

MEDIA GUIDE

Radio (Sea Dogs): News 88.9 FM
Live Web Feed: Telus
Television: None
Post-Game Coverage: Station Nation, Telegraph-Journal, Journal L’Avantage
Live Coverage: Follow Station Nation on Twitter (www.twitter.com/station_nation) for live in game coverage. All tweets will also appear in the SN Live Blog that is posted on this site.

AFTER THE BUZZER

The Sea Dogs travel to Baie-Comeau to face the Drakkar on Friday night at 8:30pm.